Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26456 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Published on: 2004
• Released on: 2004-10-05
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 180 minutes

Amazon.com
A treasure-trove for Dream Theater fans, Live at Budokan presents an entire three-hour performance at Tokyo's famed Budokan arena on April 26, 2004, along with a bonus disc rich in supplementary material. Disc 1 finds the metallic progressive-rock quintet at its awe-inspiring best, plowing through its catalog of dramatic epics and jack-hammer instrumentals, including five of the seven songs from 2003's Train of Thought. Disc 2 features an extended drum solo from percussionist extraordinaire Mike Portnoy; gear tours from guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess (fascinating for lay people and downright revelatory for musicians); and a half-hour documentary on DT's 2004 stint in Japan punctuated by tantalizing snippets of band rehearsals. The shooting and editing for the concert are a music lover's dream, with lengthy shots that linger on the performances of individual band members. Disc 2 takes this even further with a multi-angle sequence of the 12-minute "Instrumedley."

Production values are extremely high: it's a widescreen presentation shot on high-def video and nicely mixed for multichannel Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound (with a thinner, collapsed version of the same for Dolby 2.0). It must be noted, however, that the center, subwoofer, and surround channels get jumbled right at 1:35:30 on disc 1. The front left/right channels remain in place, but the signals for the other four speakers play non-musical chairs. People listening in 2.0 will experience a brief dropout at that point. --Michael Mikesell

Customer Reviews

If you will only buy 1 Dream Theater DVD, GET THIS ONE!
this DVD show Dream Theater (DT) live at the historical japanese avenue, the Budokan, at their finest. i think DT have taken their music at another highest after having Rudess on keys, he is much more than just a keyboardist, combining speed, technique, musicality, together with Petrucci, Portnoy and Myung, they expanded their musical level to somewhere that no one had done before. and this DVD show what the best the fivesome can probably do (not the last one, Metropolis 2000, though that feature Rudess as well but the whole DVD is badly produced).

the concert footage consist of 18 songs, 5 from the lastest ablum "Train of Thought" (As I Am, This Dying Soul, Endless Sacrifice, Stream of Consciousness and In the Name of God), and some old stuff, also a new "Instrumedley", a combination of some their highly technically instrumental medley from their old songs, neck-breaking solo, breathe-taking unison, head-turning drum works, what else can i say about this... i really can't find one second from the performance that's not satisfying, their performance is no doubt at their finest.

and on disc 2, you'll be amazed that they are much more that a player/musician, they have so much knowledge on their instrument, Rudess's "turnable" keyboard setup is mind blowing, he even considered about the emergency power supply, and Petrucci's guitar setup is just as stunning, he take care of his instrument to a very subtle detail, not to mention Portnoy monster drumkit and his drum solo......

DT is no doubt one of the most influential band nowadays, not only because their superb music and musicianship, but also on their devotion on their instruments, fans and the business as well... this DVD will become one of the classic live DVD of all time, don't miss it!!

Truly Incredible!
This DVD tops them all for a live concert release. I am a huge DT fan and this DVD truly blew me away. It is light years ahead of their previous DVD releases. The technical ability of the band just never stops getting more and more ridiculous. All five of the band members display on this concert that they are at the top of their respective musical classes. The song selection is excellent. The video quality is superb along with the sound quality. I have noticed that in the last year or two, James Labrie's voice has gotten much better. He seemed to get tired on the last few concert dvds and started missing a lot of high notes about half-way through the concert. At Budokan, his voice is actually better live than on some of the studio recordings! Very passionate singing, great range, and knows when not to overdo it. If you are even a quasi Dream Theater fan, you MUST get this DVD. I promise, it will blow you away. DT is at its zenith.

The best DVD ever!
FINALLY! After much procrastination, I got this DVD! I loved the album version of LAB, but seeing them just BLEW ME AWAY! THIS is how a DT show REALLY is!

Okay. First off, the production is SOLID! John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy (guitarist and drummer, respectively) did a great job of producing it in the studio. The drums sound great, and the instruments sound better! On top of that, if that wasn't enough and it would make any DT fan drool, James sounds GREAT! Sure, he KINDA sounds nasal, but it's because he sometimes sings too close to the mic'. I'd say this is the best production on ANY DT release.

Second, the performance is AMAZING! Here's a quick rundown through the tracks:
As I Am: Great, energetic live starter. The solo is MINDBLOWING.
This Dying Soul: Great enough follow up. Love Jordan's keyboard adlibs here.
Beyond This Life: The extended jam session gave me a massive erection.
Hollow Years: I love JP's added Spanish guitar solo at the intro.
War Inside My Head/The Test That Stumped Them All: Now it gets back to HEAVY! The transition between these 2 songs is amazing!
Endless Sacrifice: Great, just like the studio version, though.
Instrumedley: A mix of all the band's instrumentals! AMAZING!
Trial of Tears: Amazing. James never sounded better.
New Millennium: Great but I don't get why the crowd roared with excitement during the intro.
Keyboard solo: "Ladies and gentlemen, MR. Jordan Rudess!" Exellent keyboard solo!
Only a Matter of Time: Along with TOT, James' best performance here.
Goodnight Kiss/Solitary Shell: Exellent, yet again, one of James's bets peroformances.
Stream of Consciousness: Great instrumental!
Disappear: Better than the "Six..." version!
Pull Me Under: Do I need to say anything here?
In the Name of God: And now the grand finale! IT was absolutely amazing! The added solo at the end was brilliant! I did the hand swinging along with the crowd ;).

On to disc 2:
It gives a documentary of the band's tour. IT's great to watc, and has a hilarious moment: When LaBrie was getting his voice in shape, John P. and Jordan tried to sing to! "Did I mention... YEAH!"

There is also the intro tape, which is what they played at the start of each show on tour.

There are John P. and Jordan's setups, which ARE indeed interesting.

There's Mike's killer drum solo.

And there's a multi-angle lense of "Instrumedley".

All in all, it is a must for ALL DT fans.